Rex Ryan Has Proven as a Quality Coach, but Time with Jets Has Run out

Few coaches in the NFL are more respected than Rex Ryan. So respected, in fact, that the Jets were afraid of letting him hit the open market last offseason, even after a third-consecutive playoff-less season.

With nearly 30 years of coaching experience that includes Super Bowl rings, historic defenses and franchise-changing playoff runs, Ryan is a proven commodity as a head coach. While far from perfect, Ryan has always managed to get the most out of what he has had to work with, keeping the Jets at least somewhat relevant during the leanest of times.

The Jets' 1-7 record cannot be blamed squarely on Ryan; even the most casual viewer can see how undermanned the Jets are on a week-to-week basis to compete.

However, Sunday's blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills was an obvious signal that the end of the Ryan era in New York is just over the smoky New York City horizon.

Ryan was set up for failure this season. His top three cornerbacks from August are either on injured reserve or looking for work. He endured weeks with the likes of Greg Salas and David Nelson lining up as starting receivers, while forcing a failing guard project into the starting lineup (Brian Winters). He could only watch as his first-round safety, Calvin Pryor, whiffed on a long touchdown to Sammy Watkins to seal Sunday's game.

No coach could succeed in the conditions Ryan finds himself. Still, as unfair as it is, the Jets find themselves in a position where they need to make changes for change's sake.

The Jets are not just losing—they have been getting blown out on a fairly regular basis this season, more so than any year under Ryan's watch. Outside of a few inspired performances against the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears, the Jets have looked bad enough at times to consider their sole win against the Oakland Raiders as a minor upset.

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Even the great coaches in the game have a finite lifespan. After six seasons, Ryan's "eventful" term appears to be at an end. 

When Ryan found his greatest success reaching the AFC Championship games in 2009 and 2010, his boisterous, progressive approach was well-received by a franchise that used to spend so much time trying to emulate their button-down rivals in Boston. The idea that one could declare themselves favorites to win a Super Bowl and actually come within a half of football was nothing short of revolutionary.

Fast-forward to the present, and it is beyond apparent that the injection of energy Ryan used to give this franchise on a weekly basis has all but disappeared. 

His once-vaunted defenses are a shadow of their former selves. The pride of Ryan's team, the mystique of playing against a "Rex Ryan defense" no longer exists, at least while he is associated with the green and white. Thanks in large part due to an erosion of talent, his once-prideful unit has reverted back to the mediocrity they accepted before he became head coach. 

Year	Pass Rank	Run Rank	Overall
2009	1	8	1
2010	6	3	3
2011	5	12	5
2012	2	25	8
2013	22	3	11
2014	16	5	7

Meanwhile, their offense has as much self-identity as a 13-year-old high school freshman, while continuing the tradition of dealing with substandard play from the quarterback position. 

Keeping the Jets at a respectable .500 record last year may have saved Ryan's job last year, but this overachieving set Ryan up for a collapse in 2014. With a -97 point differential, the Jets were nowhere near as good as their mediocre record may have indicated. Compounded with a quiet free agent period and a draft class that has yielded mostly useless or underperforming players, it was a matter of time before the Jets imploded.

Ryan has put bread on his dinner table with his ability to turn average, or even poor teams into competitive  ones, but the constant battle of trying to compensate for a lack of talent has started to wear him and his coaching staff down, reaching into the realm of desperation to light a spark under this team.

Coaches of undermanned teams will often try to "hide" players from the game—but Rex has taken this concept to an entirely new level.

Historically, owner Woody Johnson has not made decisions based on specific records or playoff appearances—the "feel" of how a coach or general manager is performing ultimately will be the deciding factor in who stays and goes. After all, Johnson fired Eric Mangini after a 9-7 season and has held onto Rex Ryan through two 8-8 seasons and a 6-10 season. 

Prior to Sunday's loss, there was an argument to be made to keep Ryan around beyond this season, regardless of what his record might have ended up being as long as his team was competitive in each game—just as they were last week against the New England Patriots—giving hope for seasons beyond 2014. 

However, losing to the Bills in embarrassing fashion in front of a home crowd all but erases such a scenario. It took a few years, but Ryan appears to have finally fallen victim to the impossible situation he has been placed in on a year to year basis. 

Slowly but surely, the Jets have managed to "break" Rex Ryan, with his charisma and ability to outscheme his opponents withering faster than his waistline. 

Ryan has taken the franchise to heights it has not reached in decades. Few, if any coaches who strutted the Meadowlands sidelines have enjoyed more success than Ryan, especially as he challenged the bland, lifeless approach coaches have taken toward building their public image. 

Rex, it's been fun—but the Jets need to head in a fresh new direction. Johnson may as well steal George Constanza's patented breakup line:

"It's not you; it's me."

Ryan's lifespan as the Jets head coach has simply run out, he is another victim of the unpredictable life cycle of the NFL from which no coach is immune.

Rex Ryan did not morph into a poor coach overnight. If/when he is fired, he will find a landing spot in a fresh, new environment to restart his head coaching career. However, as long as he is leading the green and white, recapturing the magic from the 2010 and 2009 seasons is nothing but a fantasy.

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